Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple is now going on the warpath, announcing last Saturday that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) could very well indeed be the subject of criminal charges if Sheriff Apple’s department corroborates a criminal complaint that alleges the governor engages in illegal sexual conduct.

The Details

At a press conference last week, Apple was asked how he was going to approach the latest scandal regarding Governor Andrew Cuomo. He capped it off by offering a “very comprehensive” investigation into the allegations against Cuomo, but because the investigation is in the early stages he declined to elaborate any further.

Apple went on to explain that his office had been contacted by the lawyer of an alleged victim on the same day that New York Attorney General Letitia James had released her 165-page bombshell report that detailed the tremendous sexual harassment claims as well as the allegations that his office retaliated against the accusers. James made the conclusion that Cuomo had broken several federal and state laws, but she declined to recommend that he be prosecuted.

“I cannot get into the nature of her specific allegations at this time, obviously. We’re at the very infant stages of this investigation,” Apple Said last Saturday according to Fox News. “We have a lot of fact-finding to do. We have a lot of interviews to conduct. And it would be totally premature for me to comment on any of that.”

The alleged victim filed an official report with the Albany Sheriff’s Office two days after this initial report, according to the New York Post.

The unidentified victim lodged a serious accusation against the governor and detailed it in AG James’ report, and she alleged that Governor Cuomo pulled her in to try to give her a hug, and then proceeded to pull up her blouse and fondle one of her breasts in the Executive Mansion on November 16th. After the criminal complaint had been lodged, Apple notified the New York Post that his investigation was not going to be influenced by the fact that Cuomo is a powerful politician. He continued to reiterate that statement last Saturday.

“I’m the county sheriff. I’m not going to be intimidated. I’m not going to be coerced,” Apple said. “That would not play out well for anybody.”

Could Cuomo be arrested?

During his press conference on Saturday, Apple admitted that it was “premature” to say at this juncture whether the investigation would lead to Cuomo being arrested or charged, as noted by the Washington Post.

However, if investigations are able to substantiate the allegations, Cuomo could face misdemeanor charges.

Apple said he was planning on conducting the investigation in conjunction with the Albany County District Attorney’s office, and he has requested several items of investigative materials from the New York state attorney general’s office.

Fabien Levy is a spokesman for attorney general James’ office, and said that the state attorney general’s office was going to “cooperate fully with the Albany sheriff and would turn over all evidence related to this complainant.”

The governor’s attorneys continue to deny that any wrongdoing occurred.

According to the Post, Rita Glavin is a personal attorney governor, and she is still questioning the new allegation that is now the subject of the Albany County Sheriff’s investigation. She said she feels that Cuomo is being treated unfairly.

“The governor deserves to be treated fairly, just like anyone else who has been accused of something,” she said. “Governor Cuomo is 63 years old. He has spent the last four decades in public life. And for him to all of a sudden be accused of a sexual assault of an executive that he doesn’t really know doesn’t pass muster.”

Cuomo continues to refuse to resign despite even facing calls to step down even from members of his own party, including from President Biden. Either way, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.